clf — Clear the contents of the current figure, selected figure handles, or all figures.

clf clears the contents of the current figure while keeping the figure handle itself alive. RunMat also accepts explicit figure handles and the 'all' selector to clear multiple figures. The compatibility keyword 'reset' is currently parsed but behaves the same as plain clf.

How clf works

• clf() clears the current figure.
• clf(handle) clears the specified figure handle.
• clf('all') clears every known figure and returns the number of figures that were cleared.
• clf(handle1, handle2, ...) clears multiple figures and returns the number cleared when more than one handle is supplied.
• clf('reset') is currently treated the same as plain clf.

How RunMat runs clf on the GPU

clf performs no provider dispatch; it clears figures from the plotting registry and renderer state.

GPU memory and residency

clf only mutates plotting state and does not affect array residency.

Examples

Clear the current figure after plotting

figure(1);
plot(1:5, [1 4 2 5 3]);
out = clf()

Expected output:

% out is the cleared figure handle

Clear a specific figure by handle

figure(3);
plot(1:5, 1:5);
out = clf(3)

Expected output:

out = 3

Clear every figure

figure(1); plot(1:5, 1:5);
figure(2); plot(1:5, [5 4 3 2 1]);
count = clf("all")

Expected output:

count = 2

FAQ

Does clf delete the figure handle itself?

No. It clears the figure contents but keeps the figure handle selected and available.

What does clf('reset') do today?

RunMat parses the keyword for compatibility, but the current implementation treats it the same as plain clf.

What does clf('all') return?

It returns the number of figures that were cleared. When no figures exist, it returns 0.

Related Plotting functions

Open-source implementation

Unlike proprietary runtimes, every RunMat function is open-source. Read exactly how clf works, line by line, in Rust.

• View clf.rs on GitHub
• Learn how the runtime works
• Found a bug? Open an issue with a minimal reproduction.

About RunMat

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